Ethnic theatre in the United States is mostly directed and acted out for and by minority groups. Ethnic theatre has been a nostalgic centerpiece for those who are seperated from the average American either by language, social class, or appearance, and have been discriminated against for those very reasons. Dating back from Native American Theatre all the way to Cuban-American theatre, these theatres have faced problems with lack of money, lack of respect, and opposition from those in the outside as well as the inside. There was speculation over what some of these immigrant theatre groups stood for. For example, Scandinavian theatre was opposed by the church because the church associated the theatre with alcohol. But despite the adversity, as the immigrants grew, the theatre did as well. After World War I and into the Harlem Renaissance, the growth followed with cultural and intellectual rising. Ethnic theatre became a place for education, charity, and political awareness. It was a place for any type of person; age, gender, social class, education. People gathered to share one thing they had in common. It taught the children that were born in America, that were of different ethnicities, about their parents and their homelands. There has been a rise and fall of Ethnic theatre, whether it be because of immigration laws or increase in technology, it has survived and continues to prosper as an outlet for those of diverse ethnicities in the United States.
Ethnic theatre in the United States is mostly directed and acted out for and by minority groups. Ethnic theatre has been a nostalgic centerpiece for those who are seperated from the average American either by language, social class, or appearance, and have been discriminated against for those very reasons. Dating back from Native American Theatre all the way to Cuban-American theatre, these theatres have faced problems with lack of money, lack of respect, and opposition from those in the outside as well as the inside. There was speculation over what some of these immigrant theatre groups stood for. For example, Scandinavian theatre was opposed by the church because the church associated the theatre with alcohol. But despite the adversity, as the immigrants grew, the theatre did as well. After World War I and into the Harlem Renaissance, the growth followed with cultural and intellectual rising. Ethnic theatre became a place for education, charity, and political awareness. It was a place for any type of person; age, gender, social class, education. People gathered to share one thing they had in common. It taught the children that were born in America, that were of different ethnicities, about their parents and their homelands. There has been a rise and fall of Ethnic theatre, whether it be because of immigration laws or increase in technology, it has survived and continues to prosper as an outlet for those of diverse ethnicities in the United States.
Isabella Cleghorn